Table 1 Characteristics of primiparous teenage, optimal age, and advanced age mothers living with children 0–23 month-old
|  | Teenage Mothers N = 53,409 | Optimal Age Mothers N = 790,960 | Advanced Age Mothers N = 106,536 |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | % | % | % | p-value*b |
Positive-Interaction Parenting | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 18.14 (.12) | 18.27 (.04) | 18.40 (.11) | .270 |
Maternal Socio-Demographic Characteristics | ||||
Mother’s Age at Childbirth | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 18.19 (.07) | 27.16 (.08) | 37.27 (.11) | < .001 |
Immigration to Canada | ||||
 No  Yes | 90.3 9.7 | 82.4 17.6 | 70.0 30.0 | < .001 |
Married/With Partner | ||||
 No  Yes | 47.8 52.2 | 9.7 90.3 | 7.7 92.3 | < .001 |
Place of Residence | ||||
 Rural  Urban | 12.2 87.8 | 9.8 90.2 | 5.9 94.1 | 0.009 |
Level of Education | ||||
 High school or less  Postsec/Part University  Bachelor or higher | 69.8 30.2 N/A | 16.4 65.1 18.5 | 7.5 64.2 28.3 | < .001 |
Household Income ($1000’s) | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 32.46 (1.57) | 70.59 (1.28) | 89.86 (3.62) | < .001 |
Work Status | ||||
 No work in past year  Worked part-time last year  Worked full-time last year | 47.7 28.8 23.5 | 31.7 17.7 50.6 | 27.4 16.3 56.3 | < .001 |
Maternal Health and Social Characteristics | ||||
Perceived Health Status | ||||
 Good/Fair/Poor Health  Very good/Excellent Health | 35.8 64.2 | 22.1 77.9 | 24.7 75.3 | < .001 |
Depression | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 5.62 (.32) | 3.72 (.08) | 3.89 (.28) | < .001 |
Family Functioning | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 10.32 (.31) | 8.15 (.10) | 8.79 (.33) | < .001 |
Social Support | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 17.88 (.21) | 19.11 (.08) | 18.92 (.22) | .005 |
Devotion to Religion | ||||
 Never attended  Partially/regularly attended | 50.4 49.6 | 43.5 56.5 | 46.6 53.4 | .125 |
Child Characteristics | ||||
Age of Child (Months) | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 13.56 (.37) | 13.04 (.10) | 13.53 (.27) | .254 |
Sex of Child | ||||
 Male  Female | 52.0 48.0 | 52.9 47.1 | 51.4 48.6 | .858 |
Use of Childcare | ||||
 No  Yes | 68.2 31.8 | 73.3 26.7 | 72.2 27.8 | .285 |
Health Status of Child | ||||
 Good/Fair/Poor Health  Improved Health | 11.8 88.2 | 6.4 93.6 | 5.2 94.8 | .009 |
Temperament | ||||
 Meana (SE)b | 2.72 (.51) | 2.57 (.14) | 2.66 (.35) | .112 |
Survey Data | ||||
Data Collection Year | ||||
 Cycle 4 (2000–2001)  Cycle 5 (2002–2003)  Cycle 6 (2004–2005)  Cycle 7 (2006–2007)  Cycle 8 (2008–2009) | 19.4 21.0 22.5 18.7 18.4 | 16.0 17.0 19.6 24.5 22.9 | 14.8 20.4 18.3 20.4 26.1 | .102 |